Table of Contents

Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP): Enhancing the Outcomes of Low Birth Weight, Premature Infants in the United States, 1985-1988 (ICPSR 9795)

Principal Investigator(s):
Gross, Ruth T., et al.

Summary:

The Infant Health and Development Program was a
collaborative, randomized, longitudinal, multisite clinical trial
designed to evaluate the efficacy of comprehensive early intervention
in reducing the developmental and health problems of low birth weight,
premature infants. An intensive intervention extending from hospital
discharge to 36 months corrected age was administered between 1985 and
1988 at eight different sites. The study sample of infants was
stratified by birth weight (2,000 grams or less, 2,001-2,500 grams) and
randomized to the Intervention Group or the Follow-Up Group. The
Intervention Group received home visits, attendance at a special child
development center, and pediatric follow-up. The Follow-Up Group
received only the pediatric follow-up component of the program.
Measures of cognitive development, behavioral status, health status,
and other variables were collected from both groups at predetermined
time points. Cognitive development was assessed by the Stanford-Binet
Intelligence Scale, the Bayley Mental and Motor Scales, the Peabody
Picture Vocabulary Test--Revised, and the Beery-Buktenica Developmental
Test of Visual Motor Integration. Behavior problems were measured using
the Richman-Graham Behavior Checklist and Achenbach's Child Behavior
Checklist. Health status was evaluated through the dimensions of
morbidity (defined as the presence or absence of health conditions),
functional status (defined by limitations in activities of daily living
due to health problems), changes in physical growth, and maternal
perception of the child's health. The many other variables and indices
in the data collection include site, pregnancy complications, child's
birth weight and gestation age, birth order, child's gender, household
composition, day care arrangements, source of health care, quality of
the home environment, parents' race and ethnicity, and maternal age,
education, IQ, and employment.

The Infant Health and Development Program was a
collaborative, randomized, longitudinal, multisite clinical trial
designed to evaluate the efficacy of comprehensive early intervention
in reducing the developmental and health problems of low birth weight,
premature infants. An intensive intervention extending from hospital
discharge to 36 months corrected age was administered between 1985 and
1988 at eight different sites. The study sample of infants was
stratified by birth weight (2,000 grams or less, 2,001-2,500 grams) and
randomized to the Intervention Group or the Follow-Up Group. The
Intervention Group received home visits, attendance at a special child
development center, and pediatric follow-up. The Follow-Up Group
received only the pediatric follow-up component of the program.
Measures of cognitive development, behavioral status, health status,
and other variables were collected from both groups at predetermined
time points. Cognitive development was assessed by the Stanford-Binet
Intelligence Scale, the Bayley Mental and Motor Scales, the Peabody
Picture Vocabulary Test--Revised, and the Beery-Buktenica Developmental
Test of Visual Motor Integration. Behavior problems were measured using
the Richman-Graham Behavior Checklist and Achenbach's Child Behavior
Checklist. Health status was evaluated through the dimensions of
morbidity (defined as the presence or absence of health conditions),
functional status (defined by limitations in activities of daily living
due to health problems), changes in physical growth, and maternal
perception of the child's health. The many other variables and indices
in the data collection include site, pregnancy complications, child's
birth weight and gestation age, birth order, child's gender, household
composition, day care arrangements, source of health care, quality of
the home environment, parents' race and ethnicity, and maternal age,
education, IQ, and employment.

Access Notes

One or more data files in this study are set up in a non-standard format, such as card image format. Users
may need help converting these files before they can be used for analysis.

The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public.
Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

Dataset(s)

WARNING: Because this study has many datasets, the download all files option has been suppressed, and you will need to download one dataset at a time.

WARNING: This study is over 150MB in size and may take several minutes to download on a typical internet connection.

Study Description

Citation

Gross, Ruth T., et al. Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP): Enhancing the Outcomes of Low Birth Weight, Premature Infants in the United States, 1985-1988. ICPSR09795-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1992. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09795.v1

Universe:
All low birth weight (2,500 grams or less), premature (37
weeks gestational age or less) infants born at eight sites (University
of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School, University of Miami School of Medicine,
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, University of Texas
Health Science Center at Dallas, University of Washington School of
Medicine, and Yale University School of Medicine) between November 1984
and August 1985. All study infants reached 40 weeks post-conceptual age
between January 7, 1985, and October 9, 1985.

Methodology

Sample:
After all eligibility criteria were applied during the
screening procedure, 1302 of the 4551 infants born at the eight sites
during the recruitment period were determined eligible. After consent
and acceptance of assignment to study group were considered, 1,090 were
enrolled in the study. This number included a total of 103 twin pairs
and 2 cousin pairs.

Data Source:

Medical exams by physicians and nurse practitioners in
clinics, personal interviews by social workers and nurse practitioners
in clinics, development assessments by "blinded" assessors in
clinics, home visit reports by "blinded" assessors, and reports by
teachers in child development centers